Knitting In The North

Sewn: Tea Cozy

 

 

I've been having such fun with the weekly Yarn Along, I decided to join in with Julie for her new Sewing Bee!  Although I don't sew as much as I knit, I have been having fun discovering the joy of sewing, and the satisfaction of repurposing, whenever I can.

 

I found a great linen tea towel at the thrift store a while back, and brought it home full of joy.  It was too lovely, though, to use as a tea towel, but I was determined to find a practical purpose  that would still let me appreciate the embroidery and the colours and the crunchy linen.  My solution was a tea cozy - I cut two elongated half circles from the towel, and two more from a red fleece I had in my fabric stash, then sewed them together, with a little red ribbon pull on top.  I know I have seen something very similar to this in a sewing book, but I'm not sure where - perhaps Bend the Rules Sewing? 

 

Figure 8

 

 

 

Even though this Canadian girl has never learned to skate, I can still appreciate a good figure eight.  When I saw this blog post over at Anna Maria Horner's, I knew I wanted a scarf like this.  And when my kind dad sent me some money for Christmas, rather than spend on groceries the way I was tempted to do, I popped online and ordered this kit of precut fabric.

 

I will confess that I was somewhat disappointed with the cutting of the fabric - the two pieces didn't come close to matching, and I had to do quite a bit of smoothing out on the floor, pinning and cutting before I was ready to sew.  If you decide to make this, there is no way on earth you could use too many pins.  The two fabrics, a velveteen and a cotton voile, move in different ways, and have a tendency to slip and slide and stretch while you're working.  Pin, pin, pin!

 

The finished scarf, though, is perfect!  Substantial enough to wear outdoors with a coat, but soft enough to wear inside as an accessory, I love the colours and texture.  The rich, soft comfort is wonderful this grey time of year.

 

 

 

 

Little Birds

 

 

 

In the week before Christmas, I picked up the book Little Birds at our local library.  Although the combination of new job and end of school semester put an end to our plans for a completely handmade Christmas, I did still want to make a special little something for each of the kids' Christmas stockings. 

 

Liam is especially enamoured with peacocks right now, and when I saw the little peacock featured in the book, I knew I had to make one.  That, naturally, lead to a bluebird for Gwenyth, and an owl for Brian, and finally, a budgie for Katie.

 

 

 

 

I pulled out my small stash of wool felt, and got busy.  There was more handwork involved than I have been used to doing in the recent past, and I very much enjoyed myself.  The sewing was a nice accompaniment to sitting with the kids watching different Christmas movies in the days before the holiday, and I continued to stitch away in the evenings after my own little flock had gone to bed.

 

 

 

 

 

Traditionally, there is always a little face - a stuffed toy, a doll - peeking out of the top of the stockings on Christmas morning, and I would usually want those to be a surprise.  The kids did see me working on these little guys ahead of time, but it didn't seem to take away from their enjoyment of a soft, handmade bird of their own.

 

This project has definitely inspired me to do more like it.  Working with felt was really satisfying, and even more so, these little friends for the kids had exactly the feeling I was hoping for in giving them something handmade.  It has definitely encouraged me to plan and work more carefully for next year, so that we can achieve our handmade holiday goals in 2011.

 

 

 

 

Laying Plans

 

 

 

Liam is napping, the big kids are at school, I have an English assignment due Monday and a Psychology mid-term on Wednesday.  Obviously, the most important thing for me to be doing right now is thinking about Christmas!

 

Last year, when Stuart asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him that I wanted his commitment that this year, we would have a completely hand-made holiday.  No plastic toys, no stuff we don't need, just special, well thought out gifts, made by our own two hands (well, as much as possible - we agreed it is acceptable to purchase some hand-made things).  He said yes, and although I think it will really be too much for him, and that he will succumb to the need to shop, I'm embracing it wholeheartedly.

 

Here are some plans in the works:

• Stuart has only been asking for a cabled sweater for the last five years or so, and I think this sweater will do the trick.  I know I haven't made a huge amount of progress on it, but I'm busily avoiding schoolwork, so I'm sure it will fly along in the next few weeks.
• A Waldorf-style doll for Gwenyth
• A spinny speller, also for Gwenyth
• A counting fish set for Liam
• Either an etsy bought print, or a creation of our own, of a peacock for Liam's room
• A wooden display box for Brian's rock collection.  I'm picturing a box with divided sections, and a clear lid, so he can label and display his precious rocks.  I also purchased a copy of a Rocks & Minerals book this summer, to go along with it.  (Is that cheating?)
• A marshmallow shooter and ammo belt for Brian (although it looks so fun I really want one for myself...)
• Another sewing project for Stuart (but I can't talk about it, because he checks up on me here, and I would like him to have a surprise.  The "blanket" I'm knitting is kind of awkward to hide...)
• Katie, of course, is the tricky one.  She has reached the ripe old age of thirteen (birthday post to follow soon...), and I am now very uncool.  I would like to knit her a pair of stripey Noro knee socks, but am not sure I can have both the sweater & the socks done in time.  I am thinking of a messenger bag... and perhaps a purchased from etsy graphic tee?  Sigh.  If you have any bright ideas, please share.  (Thirteen, I am discovering already, is tough.  Very tough.  And as I recall, fourteen isn't any better.  Now, please excuse me -  I need to call my mother and apologize for being a teenager... again.)

 

Not Interested

I did up these shirts for the boys the other night - super fast and easy.  Using plain white t-shirts, and a thifted men's shirt for the tie fabric, I followed this tutorial.  It worked wonderfully, and we've had lots of nice compliments when the boys wore them out (although I'm reminded, already, why I don't usually buy my children white shirts - messy, messy, messy). 

 

Liam, however, was clearly uninterested in a photo shoot yesterday morning - truly, he's uninterested in doing almost anything I suggest or ask these days...  See that sweet grumpy face?  Kissing Liam's face off when he's in a mood clearly is not the response he's looking for -  isn't a 2 year old fun? 
   

Beautiful and Useful

 

One of those quotes that so many of us love, and that I try to incorporate into our life here, is that old William Morris gem:

 

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

 

I've been working diligently to remove the need for plastic bags in our world, and have taken to carrying cloth bags in my purse, vehicle, etc.  Most of these bags have been aquired from various stores, however, and are not lovely.  These don't meet Mr. Morris' criteria, not even a bit. 

This cloth bag fits the bill in my book, though. - using this tutorial from Abi, all you need is a pillowcase (vintage is lovely, but not necessary), a sewing machine and a few spare minutes to stitch yourself up a handy, sturdy and pretty bag.  Mine has been used for everything from groceries to library books to work stuff, and I've been scouring the thrift stores for sweet linens to whip myself up some more!  Such a gratifying project - if there's one thing I truly love, it's being able to make something for myself, all by myself (having it turn out nicely is a huge bonus!).

 

Note:  If you're keeping track, yes, today is Liam's 2nd birthday.  We're pretending it's not until tomorrow, though, since Stuart & I both work today, and we have friends coming over tomorrow to help us celebrate the presence of this fabulous little guy in our lives.  Today's task - construction of a massive birthday cake, with many helpers.  What is that phrase about too many cooks?  This could get a little crazy...

Reincarnated

Gwenyth had this favourite little top.  I neglected to take a picture, (bad blogger that I am) but it was one of those girly tops with a fitted, button up bodice, and a full gathered empire waist.  Recently, Gwen has gone through a bit of a growth spurt, and the bodice started to get too tight.

 

One of Gwen's favourite books in the whole wide world right now is My Forever Dress, a story about a little girl who is given a dress for her 6th birthday, and then wears it in different incarnations until she's 10.  (It really is a fabulous book - if you like to sew, and have a little girl in your life, I'd call it just about perfect - I especially like how it addresses the idea of recycling while they take apart a dress and make a new one out of it.)

 

Anyway... we thought we'd make this special top last, by turning it into a dress.  A little short on time at the moment, I simply cut apart the shirt, just above the gathered skirt, and sewed the bottom portion to a t-shirt.  It worked wonderfully, and she loves it, which is the best result I could possibly hope for.

 

After finishing this, I noticed this great article in the latest issue of Rhythm of the Home - a new online magazine that I'm really loving - check it out! 

 

 

Little Baker

We've become friendly with a family whose daughter goes to preschool with Gwenyth.  When the little girl's birthday arrived, they invited the whole clan of us over to celebrate (the bonus:  we make a whole party, just with us!), and I knew she needed something special for her special day.

 

The girl in question loves to help in the kitchen, and is already a dab hand at muffin baking, so I thought this set would be just the thing.  I used these tutorials to help me along, and am quite pleased with how they turned out.   

 

The response was one to warm any crafter's heart - "I want to make muffins NOW!". 

 

 

Fickle Four

I became taken a while ago with the idea of sewing Gwenyth a skirt out of a pillowcase.  Last year, I made her a pillowcase dress (which I somehow missed blogging about - how did that happen?), but she's gotten tall, and I wasn't sure I could pull it off again.

 

We took a trip to the thrift store, and Gwen fell in love with this pillowcase.  After paying the 50 cents herself, we took it home and got busy.  I cut it off, sewed a casing, inserted elastic and Hey Presto!  Because a skirt on it's own is not nearly as good as An Outfit, Gwenyth rummaged in her dresser until she came across this t-shirt.  I cut a few flowers from the leftover bits of pillowcase and appliqued them onto the front.  (The leggings were a recent thrifty find.  Isn't it so great when things come together like that?)

 

 

 

 

There was only one little problem - she wouldn't wear it.  At first, the skirt was too long.  Naturally, I had made it a tad longer on purpose, hoping for more use.  Silly mummy.  I hemmed up the skirt, imagining that I had found the solution.  Ah, no.  The shirt was...  TOO ORANGE!  Let's forget the fact that Gwenyth likes orange.  Put aside the idea that it was her shirt to start with.  Don't even mention that she's worn this exact shirt around 8 million times.  Too orange.  Nope.  Can't do it.

 

Oooooh, internal struggle!  Do I force her to wear the outfit she chose?  I wanted to, I really, really did.  Instead, I told her (hopefully) calmly that if she wasn't going to wear the outfit I made her, that was okay.  But not to expect me to make her any other things, if this is how she was going to behave when they were done.  (Was that mean?  I'm not sure.  It was far less mean than the yelling I would have like to have done, the forcing a tearful 4 year old to wear the outfit I used my precious crafting time on.)

 

The other day (a whole 'nother story, I tell you), we decided to head off to the lake for the morning.  Gwenyth couldn't decide what to wear, and so I handed her an outfit from her dresser.  No - she didn't want to wear that.  Thinking I would short-circuit this conversation, I picked up this skirt & t-shirt.  "Well," I said (calmly?), "you could wear the clothes mummy made you, instead." 

 

"Okay," she answered, and that was the end of the issue.  Fickle Four, anyone?

 

 

Edited to Add: Joining in the fun Link Party at Tea Rose Home - check it out! 

A Bit of Cheer

I really love swaps.  I don't join in very often (usually because I miss the boat!), but when I do, I'm always so glad.  A new reader of Our Yellow House, when I read her idea for a February Cheer swap, especially one full of handmade/thrifted type goodies, I knew I was in.  Above is the  wonderful basket that arrived from my (blogless) buddy - a knit cloth, a homemade CD of lovely, peaceful piano music, a book to read, lotion & soap to enjoy...  such pampering.  It was lovely, and a great day brightener for a tired, sick mama.

 

This is the package that I sent to my buddy:

 

 

A thrifted book, some yarn in her favourite colours, a packet of soothing teas, and my own little experiment in sewing.  I have put together something like this a few times now, and I've quite enjoyed making these little sets up - a tissue holder, key chain, coffee cup sleeve, and a little bag.  Not everyone, I know, has the same need for things to match as I do, but still - what a nice, organized feeling to open your purse and see these bits!

 

We're all (relatively) healthy now, which is good because I've been working almost non-stop!  I'm starting to feel a bit burnt out, but I've been sneaking in some crafting at every available minute, and look forward to showing you... soon.  Really soon.